DODGERS NOTEBOOK: SCAN SHOWS WERTH'S WRIST HURT.

Byline: Tony Jackson Staff Writer

VERO BEACH, Fla. - A CT scan on the left wrist of Dodgers left fielder Jayson Werth on Thursday revealed a tiny fracture of the radius bone. The injury is expected to keep Werth out of spring-training action for the next couple of weeks. He likely will return well before the regular season begins on April 5.

Werth was hit by a pitch from Florida's A.J. Burnett in Wednesday's Grapefruit League opener and immediately underwent an X-ray at the Dodgertown medical facilities that showed no fracture. But when he arrived in camp on Thursday with swelling in the area, club officials sent Werth to a local radiology center for a more extensive X-ray and the CT scan.

The pitch actually hit Werth's ulna bone, pushing it into the radius with enough force to cause the break, which was too small for either X-ray to detect it. After the results came back, trainer Stan Johnston wouldn't definitively say that Werth should be ready by opening day. But Johnston did say before the results were known that if there was a fracture, Werth probably would need about two weeks.

``We'll re-evaluate him (in two weeks), get another CT scan and see how the healing is going,'' Johnston said. ``He's not going to be splinted or casted. He'll continue with the treatment program of range-of-motion exercises and therapy.''

Werth throws right-handed, so the only thing he won't be allowed to do is catch a ball and swing a bat. While there doesn't appear to be cause for concern about his ability to be healthy by opening day, Werth's spring training will be dramatically shortened, leaving him about three weeks to get ready.

--Big hit: Non-roster outfielder Henri Stanley had the Dodgers' biggest blow in Thursday's Grapefruit League game, a 9-8 loss to the Atlanta Braves at Holman Stadium that was stopped after eight innings because of rain.

Facing former Dodgers left-hander Tom Martin, the left-handed-hitting Stanley managed to turn on a pitch and yank it into the right-field corner for a two-run, game-tying triple, capping the Dodgers' comeback from an eight-run deficit. Stanley subsequently was doubled off on David Ross' liner to third and grounded out in his only other at-bat.

Stanley has no chance to make the club out of camp. In January, after the Dodgers signed Derek Lowe, re-signed Odalis Perez and acquired Dioner Navarro, they needed 40-man roster spots. Stanley, infielder Joe Thurston and outfielder Chin-Feng Chen were taking up three of them. All three were designated for assignment, cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas. Any player whom a club outrights after Aug. 31 isn't eligible to play in the big leagues for that club before May 15.

``I'm just trying to make an impression,'' said Stanley, whom the Dodgers acquired from Boston for Dave Roberts last July 31.

--Taken aback: Another Dodgers move that didn't get much attention at last year's trading deadline was the trade of Martin to the Braves for minor-league left-hander Matt Merricks, who five months later went to Colorado in the Rule 5 draft.

On Thursday, before a shaky outing in which he faced four batters and gave up hits to three of them, Martin said he was shocked when he learned the Dodgers had dealt him.

The Dodgers moved Martin for financial reasons. They had acquired Brad Penny and Steve Finley in separate deals and owed Martin $1.8 million for 2005.

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

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Dodgers pitcher Jeff Weaver gave up six earned runs on seven hits in 2 1/3 innings against Atlanta on Thursday.

Rick Silva/Associated Press

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